The five major types of anxiety disorders are:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder. You likely go through the day filled with exaggerated worry and tension, and are overly concerned with health issues, money, family problems, or difficulties at work. Physical symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension and aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, nausea, feeling out of breath, having to go the bathroom frequently.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). You may experience persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or you may have an urgent need to engage in certain behaviors or rituals.
- Panic Disorder. Repeated and unexpected episodes of intense fear are key attributes of Panic Disorder, and accompanies physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal stress.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occured or was threatened. Such traumatic events include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, and may experience sleep problems, feel detached or be easily startled.
- Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder). If you have social phobia, you likely experience overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social situations. This anxiety may present itself only in certain situations, such as speaking in front of large crowds, or you may experience symptoms almost anytime you are around people. Symptoms include persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Physically, you may experience blushing, excessive sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking.
Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, but all the symptoms focus towards excessive, irrational fear and dread.
► Back to Stress, Anxiety, Depression
This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for a health care provider's consultation.
sourced in part from: The American Institute of Stress (www.stress.org); National Institute of Mental Health (www.nimh.nih.gov); Anxiety Disorders Association of America (www.adaa.org).